Beacon Broadside: A Project of Beacon Presstag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-14005452017-12-29T11:09:13-05:00Ideas, opinions, and personal essays from respected writers, thinkers, and activists. A project of Beacon Press, an independent publisher of progressive ideas since 1854.TypePadThe Best of the Broadside in 2017tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54ed2b7aa883301b7c9407577970b2017-12-29T11:09:13-05:002017-12-29T11:09:13-05:002017 has been ragged and turbulent, charged with a fraught political climate spawned by a divisive presidential election. 2017 witnessed assaults on progress in racial justice, backlashes against environmental protections, and more. When we needed perspective and lucid social critique on the latest attacks on our civil liberties, our authors were there. We couldn’t be more thankful for them. They make the Broadside, which reached its tenth anniversary this year, the treasure trove of thought-provoking commentary we can turn to in our troubling and uncertain times. As our director Helene Atwan wrote in our first ever blog post, “It’s our hope that Beacon Broadside will be entertaining, challenging, provocative, unexpected, and—maybe above all—a good appetizer.” We certainly hope that’s the case for the year to come. Before 2017 comes to a close, we would like to share a collection of some of the highlights of the Broadside. Happy New Year!Beacon Broadside

2017 has been ragged and turbulent, charged with a fraught political climate spawned by a divisive presidential election. 2017 witnessed assaults on progress in racial justice, backlashes against environmental protections, and more. When we needed perspective and lucid social critique on the latest attacks on our civil liberties, our authors were there. We couldn’t be more thankful for them. They make the Broadside, which reached its tenth anniversary this year, the treasure trove of thought-provoking commentary we can turn to in our troubling and uncertain times. As our director Helene Atwan wrote in our first ever blog post, “It’s our hope that Beacon Broadside will be entertaining, challenging, provocative, unexpected, and—maybe above all—a good appetizer.” We certainly hope that’s the case for the year to come. Before 2017 comes to a close, we would like to share a collection of some of the highlights of the Broadside. Happy New Year!

The election of Donald Trump as President of the United States and his approval rating spread doubts, fears, and concerns about what he and his administration would do during his term in the White House. For Inauguration Day, we reached out to a few of our authors, from Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II to Rafia Zakaria, to ask them to share what they wanted Trump to know, understand or beware of.

In response to President Trump’s immigration agenda, which pledges to seal the US/Mexico border, “A Day without Immigrants” boycotts and strikes were organized nationwide. The protests called attention to the contributions immigrant communities make to US business and culture. The generally unacknowledged work that undocumented workers do is crucial to the standard of living and consumption enjoyed by virtually everybody in the US. Aviva Chomsky explains in this excerpt from her book Undocumented that as the rise in undocumented workers over the past decades goes on, the US economic system continues to exploit them.

Remember when South Korea expert Robert Kelly was being interviewed live on the BBC and his two children walked into his office as the camera was rolling? It was hilarious! And the video went viral. Yet it was assumed that Jung-a Kim, the woman who swooped in to haul the kids out of the room, was the nanny, not Kelly’s wife. Same Family, Different Colors author Lori Tharps unpacks the notion that in American society, families are supposed to match; and when they don’t, all kinds of problems and false assumptions can arise, both inside and outside the home.

MacArthur fellow and multiple award-winning science fiction writer Octavia E. Butler would have turned seventy this year if she were still with us. Her fiction is still with us and stands the test of time, especially her classic novel Kindred. Our digital marketing associate and blog editor Christian Coleman paid tribute to her on her birthday in this piece about how her atheist outlook was just as important as her Black feminist perspective in developing the social justice consciousness of her work.

Christopher Emdin’s For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood galvanized the field of urban education when it came out in 2016 and continues to do so today. It radically reframes the approaches to teaching and learning in urban schools by taking to task the perception of urban youth of color as unteachable and challenging educators to embrace and respect each student’s culture and to reimagine the classroom as a site where roles are reversed and students become experts in their own learning. This excerpt, posted last year on our blog in honor of National Teacher Appreciation Week, generated a lot of enthusiastic conversation on social media this year, most notably on Twitter. It lists some of Emdin’s key musings to motivate educators to keep going.

The events in Charlottesville, Virginia, were a frightening and disheartening reminder of how hate and intolerance in the US resurface when bigots feel empowered to act on their prejudice. Discussions about hate and dismantling white supremacy need to continue in order for us to work toward inclusiveness and social justice. That’s why we put together this list of resources and continue to add to it in our troubled times.

Thanksgiving is a time when the topic of our nation’s origins crops up again in our conversations. But much of the US’s widely accepted origin story is skewed by the lens of settler colonialism and has silenced the voices of Native Americans. Consequently, many fabricated myths about Native Americans remain with us today. Revered historian Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, author of An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States, and journalist Dina Gilio-Whitaker, coauthor with Dunbar-Ortiz of “All the Real Indians Died Off,” have debunked these myths and uncovered history that isn’t acknowledged or well known by the general public so that we can honor and reflect on the contributions of Indigenous peoples in America.

Although guitar virtuoso Sister Rosetta Tharpe has long been recognized as the godmother of rock, she’s been shockingly overlooked in rock ‘n’ roll history—until now. This year, she was finally inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. We wouldn’t have the likes of Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Eric Clapton, and Etta James were it not for Tharpe, who paved the way for them with her innovative, charismatic guitar technique and crossover appeal. We all agree with Gayle Wald, writer of Tharpe’s biography Shout, Sister, Shout!, that it’s about time she got her overdue recognition.

Social Media's Role in Lifting Up "For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood…and the Rest of Y'all Too" (University Press Week 2017)tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54ed2b7aa883301b7c9321bf6970b2017-11-09T09:06:33-05:002017-11-09T09:23:00-05:00Christopher Emdin speaking at TEDxNYED. Photo credit: Wayne K. Lin. University Press Week runs each year in November and was first established by President Jimmy Carter in 1978 to recognize “the impact, both here and abroad, of American university presses...Beacon Broadside

Christopher Emdin speaking at TEDxNYED. Photo credit: Wayne K. Lin.

University Press Week runs each year in November and was first established by President Jimmy Carter in 1978 to recognize “the impact, both here and abroad, of American university presses on culture and scholarship." This year’s theme is “#LookItUp: Knowledge Matters” celebrating the value of knowledge and expertise that University Presses bring to the world. As a member of the Association of American University Presses, Beacon Press is proud to be a participant of this year's blog tour. In our contribution, we look at how social media has contributed to the success of one of our recent titles.

Dr. Christopher Emdin's For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood…and the Rest of Y’all Too: Reality Pedagogy and Urban Education is one of Beacon Press's best-selling books of 2016 (in hardcover) and 2017 (in paperback). Word-of-mouth quickly spread to educators across the country as more and more had a chance to read the book and hear Dr. Emdin speak. It's not just individual teachers who see the value in Emdin's theory of "reality pedagogy" in creating transformative classroom experiences for urban youth of color, we also see school districts buying the book for professional development as well as adoptions in education departments at colleges and universities. In its first year, we were thrilled to have it appear on two New York Times’s bestseller lists—Race & Civil Rights and Education—for multiple weeks!

Part of the success of For White Folks can be traced to enthusiastic online conversation by educators around Emdin and the book, especially on Twitter. The enthusiastic and thoughtful commentary demonstrates how the book has filled a definite hole in the conversation around urban education. Below are some of the kinds of responses Emdin and his book continually receive on Twitter that help spread the word and keep the conversation about how we can transform urban education for teachers and students going.

The San Francisco Unified School District Office shares that they are using the book for professional development with their teacher.

The Beacon blog, with original pieces by Emdin and excerpts from the book, also provides content for educators to find online and share. In addition to teacher enthusiasm online, Emdin’s own large social media following and his weekly #HipHopEd Twitter chats provide a large and active audience for ongoing promotion of the ideas set forth in For White Folks.

As Race, Education, and Democracy Series editor Theresa Perry wrote in the book’s Series Note: “[For White Folks] is filled with wisdom, theoretical and practical knowledge that has been formed in praxis. It is required reading for teachers, teacher educators, and community activists…it is smart, compelling, filled with emotions, and brimming over with commitment.”

Next Steps, New Phase: A Graduation Reading Listtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54ed2b7aa883301b8d2863deb970c2017-05-26T12:10:10-04:002017-05-26T12:10:10-04:00Graduation is a rite of passage that takes us either to the next step in education or our first step in a career. As a stage of new beginnings, it can be a time of uncertainty, but it’s also full of potential for growth. Graduation this season, though, seems particularly marked by uncertainty because of our charged political climate. And graduates are pondering what their own future holds in store for them. That got us thinking about what guidance our authors can give for those moving on to the next chapter of their lives.Beacon Broadside

Graduation is a rite of passage that takes us either to the next step in education or our first step in a career. As a stage of new beginnings, it can be a time of uncertainty, but it’s also full of potential for growth. Graduation this season, though, seems particularly marked by uncertainty because of our charged political climate. And graduates are pondering what their own future holds in store for them. That got us thinking about what guidance our authors can give for those moving on to the next chapter of their lives.

We put together a list of books from our catalog featuring titles for the graduate you know who wants to become a teacher or a physician. The budding activist eager to get involved with community organizing. The graduate you know in need of sage advice to reflect on the change taking place in his or her life. And more! Consider this list a taste of what we have to offer. You will find additional inspiring titles on our website.

Acclaimed science writer Angela Saini investigates the gender wars in biology, psychology, and anthropology, and delves into cutting-edge scientific studies to uncover the fascinating new portrait of women’s brains, bodies, and role in human evolution.

Viktor E. Frankl’s best-selling classic about the Holocaust and finding meaning in suffering has been adapted for younger readers in this new edition that includes a photo insert, a glossary of terms, and supplementary letters and speeches.

Psychiatrist Laura Erickson-Schroth, MD and psychotherapist Laura A. Jacobs, LCSW-R debunk twenty-one of the most common myths and misperceptions about transgender issues. A resource for transgender and gender-nonconforming young adults and their families.

Beacon’s Bestsellers and Highlights of 2016tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54ed2b7aa883301b7c8c14603970b2016-12-28T15:00:00-05:002016-12-29T01:24:25-05:00It’s December, which means it’s time for our holiday sale! All this month, get 30% off every purchase on our website using code HOLIDAY30. This year, we’re donating 20% of all sales in December to the Water Protector Legal Collective, which provides legal support for water protection activities in resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline. Now, more than ever, these are titles will be timely and necessary as we transition to the new administration. Looking for a title, but don’t know where to begin? Get started with this list we put together of our bestsellers and highlights of 2016. Happy book hunting and Happy New Year!Beacon Broadside

It’s December, which means it’s time for our holiday sale! All this month, get 30% off every purchase on our website using code HOLIDAY30. This year, we’re donating 20% of all sales in December to the Water Protector Legal Collective, which provides legal support for water protection activities in resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline. Now, more than ever, these titles will be timely and necessary as we transition to the new administration.

Looking for a title, but don’t know where to begin? Get started with this list we put together of our bestsellers and highlights of 2016. Happy book hunting and Happy New Year!

Merging real stories with theory, research, and practice, prominent scholarChristopher Emdin offers a new approach to teaching and learning for every stakeholder in urban education. Emdin’s book made it on the New York Times’ bestseller lists of Race & Civil Rights and Education.

This official companion to the Ken Burns PBS film tells the little-known story of the Sharps, an otherwise ordinary couple whose faith and commitment to social justice inspired them to undertake dangerous rescue and relief missions across war-torn Europe, saving the lives of countless refugees, political dissidents, and Jews on the eve of World War II. Our director Helene Atwan attended a special screening of the documentary at the White House with Joukowsky.

In this enlightening book, scholars and activists Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz and Dina Gilio-Whitaker unpack the twenty-one most common myths and misconceptions about Native American culture and history that have misinformed generations.

Following the death of her father, journalist and hospice volunteer Ann Neumann set out to examine what it means to die well in the United States. She brings us intimate portraits of the nurses, patients, bishops, bioethicists, and activists who are shaping the way we die.

Modern-day civil rights champion Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II tells the stirring story of how he helped start a movement to bridge America’s racial divide. He gave a rousing speech at this year’s Democratic National Convention.

Why have the monotheistic religions failed to produce societies that live up to their ethical ideals? Prominent rabbi Dr. Donniel Hartman answers this question by looking at his own faith and offering a way for religion to heal itself.

In this biography, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Arthur Browne reveals an important and compelling social history of African Americans in New York City from the 1910s to 1960 through the life of Samuel Battle, the New York Police Department’s first black officer. One Righteous Man is the winner of the 2016 Phillis Wheatley Book Award in Nonfiction.

Weaving together personal stories, history, and analysis, journalist Lori L. Tharps explores the myriad ways skin-color politics affect family dynamics in the United States. The New York Times Book Review says “[t]his thoughtful, honest, historically textured and valuable book offers a detailed and current syllabus of work on the social and cultural meanings of colorism around the world and brings colorism ‘out of the closet.’”

The Best of the Broadside in 2016tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54ed2b7aa883301b7c8be5f59970b2016-12-27T17:28:46-05:002016-12-29T01:13:30-05:002016 is a year that speaks for itself. It’s been a rough and tumultuous one, culminating in a divisive presidential election that has many people afraid of what’s in store for the country once the new administration takes office on January 20. When we’re in need of wisdom and guidance during troubling and unpredictable times ahead, we turn to our authors, who continue to offer their time and insights to give us perspective and commentary on the condition of our world. Our blog, the Broadside, wouldn’t be what it is without them. As always, we’re so grateful to them. We’ll need their thought-provoking essays as we head into 2017. Before the year comes to a close, we would like to share a collection of some of the Broadside’s most-read posts. Happy New Year!Beacon Broadside

Photo credit: Flickr user iluvgadgets

2016 is a year that speaks for itself. It’s been a rough and tumultuous one, culminating in a divisive presidential election that has many people afraid of what’s in store for the country once the new administration takes office on January 20. When we’re in need of wisdom and guidance during troubling and unpredictable times ahead, we turn to our authors, who continue to offer their time and insights to give us perspective and commentary on the condition of our world. Our blog, the Broadside, wouldn’t be what it is without them. As always, we’re so grateful to them. We’ll need their thought-provoking essays as we head into 2017. Before the year comes to a close, we would like to share a collection of some of the Broadside’s most-read posts. Happy New Year!

In January, a group of armed militiamen, including Ryan and Ammon Bundy, broke into and took over the headquarters and visitors’ center of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Harney County, Oregon. The reason for the take-over was to protest the imprisonment of two local rangers for committing arson on public lands in 2001 and 2006. The take-over, though, has more to do with the ongoing US system of colonialism and the illegal seizing land from Native communities. Providing some historical threads to understand the present, An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States author Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz calls for all the sacred sites and “public” lands to be returned to the stewardship of Native peoples.

Before the rumors of Justice Antonin Scalia’s death were confirmed, he was already being lauded as a transformational figure, eulogized as a jurist who made originalism a respectable mode of constitutional interpretation. His views were regressive, but he expressed them in memorable prose. During oral argument, he made people laugh. Law professor David R. Dow argues, however, that Scalia’s interpretive philosophy is the equivalent of climate change denial. It will be forgotten in a generation and laughed at in two.

Ten years ago, rapper and producer Kanye West said “...I make Black History everyday, I don’t need a month.” It’s a declaration, says For White Folks Who Teach in the Hoodauthor Christopher Emdin, that signals the tensions between Black History Month and the youth to whom it should mean most. In his visits to classrooms, Emdin discovered that black students were disengaged from Black History Month celebrations because they didn’t feel connected to it. For them, it was a relic whose historical significance they recognized, but had no personal import. Emdin proposes a radical approach to making Black History Month relevant for the new generations.

Social media filled with outrage as well as tributes for Melissa Harris-Perry when MSNBC silenced her show and dismantled her editorial control. Her show was important, and for many viewers Harris-Perry was their first and often only national exposure to a broad range of issues. It raised uncomfortable, needed questions about American politics and enduring sites of injustice; it hosted a diverse array of experts for an informed national conversation. Jeanne Theoharis, who discussed her book The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks on the show, celebrates Harris-Perry and the inclusive forum an entire nation lost.

Japan and the United States have differing cultural standards when it comes to parenting. That became apparent when seven-year-old Tanooka Yamato made international news as the boy whose parents abandoned him in the bear-infested forest of Hokkaido. Many Americans were incensed, fearing the worst that could have happened to the child and blaming his parents for negligence. But are we missing something as far as cultural differences are concerned? Suzanne Kamata, editor of Love You to Pieces and American expat who lives in Japan, addresses the other side of the story from the Japanese perspective.

In July, biblical literalist Ken Ham opened his controversial “Ark Encounter” theme park in Williamstown, Kentucky. Here, visitors come in contact with a full-sized wood ark, built according to the dimensions provided by the Bible, and the events of the myth of Noah and the flood. Scientists have expressed concern about the project promoting pseudoscience. Biblical scholars have objected to the park’s treating the myth as a historical event. Karl Giberson, author of Saving the Original Sinner, argues that with the park, Ham has done a great disservice to Christianity and thinking people in general.

In Japan, there is still stigma attached to people with disabilities and they continue to be marginalized. This July, disabled residents died or sustained injuries by knife attack in a care facility, but their names were never made public. Police didn’t disclose their names on the grounds that their relatives did not want to have them identified due to their disabilities. In her second post about Japan, Suzanne Kamata points out that this is the opposite of what happened when a driver of a rampaging truck killed eighty-four people in Nice, France on Bastille Day. Names and photos of the truck victims were publicized. Kamata asks: How can we mourn those who are denied their humanity?

We’ve heard plenty about President-elect Donald Trump’s father during the course of his campaign, but not a word about his mother. That’s because, as Love & Fury author Richard Hoffman writes, women in Trump’s macho bully’s world are worth their fetishized bodies and nothing else. In fact, Trump’s inherited and antiquated brand of masculinity is designed to shame boys into rigid gender compliance and into identifying with a tangle of anxieties that can only be assuaged with violent behavior. But this ideology is on its way out. You can tell by the ferocious backlash of its death throes.

In response to the persistent racial injustice and the renewed spirit of activism represented by the Black Lives Matter movement, we released the eBook Baldwin for Our Times to help us understand and confront the inequalities in our times. This collection features specific selections from James Baldwin’s Notes of a Native Son and his poetry collection Jimmy’s Blues. We reached out to prominent Baldwin scholar Rich Blint to provide notes and an introduction for the publication. In this Q&A, Blint chats with us about the project and why Baldwin’s sharp and lucid social criticism will be imperative during the upcoming administration.

Educators Tweet Their Praise for Christopher Emdin’s Wisdom and Guidancetag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54ed2b7aa883301b8d1ecaf5b970c2016-05-25T13:11:31-04:002017-05-09T08:47:39-04:00By Nicholas DiSabatino
One of the most gratifying aspects of working on Dr. Christopher Emdin’s New York Times bestselling book, For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood…and the Rest of Y’all Too: Reality Pedagogy and Urban Education, is seeing the reaction of educators on Twitter. Since it went on sale this past March, the book has elicited enthusiastic and thoughtful tweets, fulfilling a definite need in the conversation in the world of urban education. Beacon Broadside

It helps to have an impassioned author with an already built-in Twitter following (Emdin’s successful #HipHopEd community) as well as a winning combination of a provocative title, gorgeous cover—to see how the cover was made, please check out this great blog piece from former Beacon Press Designer Gabi Anderson here—and a book with practical, meaningful ideas for not just white folks, but all educators.

Below is a look at several of my favorite responses to the book from a variety of educators on Twitter, reposted with their permission.

Aaron Brengard, a principal at San Jose’s Katherine Smith Elementary School, is using For White Folks as a resource and book club with his staff.

P. L. Thomas, a professor of Education at Furman University in Greenville, SC, shared this highlighted passage from the book on his Twitter feed. Thomas has been an enthusiastic supporter of the book since it went on sale.

“May we say ‘preach’”? @chrisemdin

Mr. W, a teacher with a passion for special education, reminded educators online that there’s always time to read about reality pedagogy between classes.

“Reading @chrisemdin latest book between teaching classes”

Kevin Winebold, a musical director in NYC, is a big fan of the cover of the book.

“Don’t judge a book by its cover unless it’s this one. Then purchase instantly. Thanks @chrisemdin. Can’t wait to read.”

Alexis Finley found a good use of her new Kindle to highlight some of her favorite passages from the book here.

“Just finished #ForWhiteFolks @chrisemdin Put the new Kindle to good use noting a lot of great content and ideas.

Emdin’s Twitter following has grown exponentially since his book went on sale, and will continue to do so. As Race, Education, and Democracy Series editor Theresa Perry wrote in the book’s Series Note: “[For White Folks] is filled with wisdom, theoretical and practical knowledge that has been formed in praxis. It is required reading for teachers, teacher educators, and community activists…it is smart, compelling, filled with emotions, and brimming over with commitment.”

About the Author

Nicholas DiSabatino is the publicist at Beacon Press.

Christopher Emdin’s Thoughts on Transformative Pedagogy for National Teacher Appreciation Weektag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54ed2b7aa883301b7c8508a0d970b2016-05-02T15:17:10-04:002018-05-08T16:44:03-04:00By Christopher Emdin: In his proclamation for this year’s National Teacher Appreciation Week (May 2-6), President Barack Obama states that “our country’s teachers—from the front lines of our civil rights movement to the front lines of our education system—have helped steer our country’s course. They witness the incredible potential of our youth, and they know firsthand the impact of a caring leader at the front of the classroom.” Associate professor and educator Christopher Emdin is certainly at the front lines of a radical approach to teaching urban youth.Beacon Broadside

In his proclamation for this year’s National Teacher Appreciation Week (May 2-6), President Barack Obama states that “our country’s teachers—from the front lines of our civil rights movement to the front lines of our education system—have helped steer our country’s course. They witness the incredible potential of our youth, and they know firsthand the impact of a caring leader at the front of the classroom.” Associate professor and educator Christopher Emdin is certainly at the front lines of a radical approach to teaching urban youth. His theory of Reality Pedagogy in For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood...and the Rest of Y’all Too is the much-needed antidote to traditional top-down schooling and promises to reframe the landscape of urban education for the better. He recognizes that at times putting this theory into practice can become daunting, and teachers need encouragement to forge ahead. In honor of National Teacher Appreciation Week, we’re sharing this excerpt from Emdin’s book in which he lists eight of his thoughts and musings to motivate educators to keep going.

***

Throughout For White Folks, I have provided educators and those interested in the field of education a number of concepts to think about, new approaches to consider, and new practices to implement. However, in my work as a teacher and a trainer of teachers, there are times when the work seems too tough, inspiration is nowhere to be found, and I am so bogged down by attacks on the profession and shifting policies that lead nowhere that I must take a step back and regroup. Here, I share some thoughts I always return to on my journey in education. They are a collection of personal musings, shared with the sole intent of supporting educators on their most challenging days and reminding them of why we do this work, and what we need to do it well.

———

The way that a teacher teaches can be traced directly back to the way that the teacher has been taught. The time will always come when teachers must ask themselves if they will follow the mold or blaze a new trail. There are serious risks that come with this decision. It essentially boils down to whether one chooses to do damage to the system or to the student.

———

The longer teachers teach, the better they are at their practice. That practice may serve to empower students or it may break the students’ spirit. That decision belongs to the teacher.

———

The effectiveness of the teacher can be traced directly back to what that teacher thinks of the student. If the teacher does not value the student, there is no motivation to take risks to engage with the student. It is easier and safer to remain in the traditional model—even though that model has failed the student.

———

How successful the teacher is in the classroom is directly related to how successful the teacher thinks the students can be. Teachers limit themselves and their students when they put caps on what their students can achieve.

———

Teachers who hold within themselves perceptions of the inadequacy of students will never be able to teach them to be something greater than what they are. You cannot teach someone you do not believe in.

———

Planning for your lesson is valuable, but being willing to let go of that plan is even more so. It is only on the path away from where you started that you can get to where you want to go.

———

Continued effort in teaching more effectively inevitably results in more effective teaching. However, this all depends on what the teacher considers to be effective. The teacher must ask what the desired result of the teaching is. You cannot be effective if you have not defined for yourself what effective means.

———

The kind of teacher you will become is directly related to the kind of teachers you associate with. Teaching is a profession where misery does more than just love company—it recruits, seduces, and romances it. Avoid people who are unhappy and disgruntled about the possibilities for transforming education. They are the enemy of the spirit of the teacher.

About the Author

Christopher Emdin is an associate professor in the Department of Mathematics, Science, and Technology at Teachers College, Columbia University, where he also serves as associate director of the Institute for Urban and Minority Education. The creator of the #HipHopEd social media movement and Science Genius B.A.T.T.L.E.S., Emdin was named the 2015 Multicultural Educator of the Year by the National Association of Multicultural Educators and has been honored as a STEM Access Champion of Change by the White House. In addition to teaching, he serves as a Minorities in Energy Ambassador for the US Department of Energy. He is the author of For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood...and the Rest of Y’all Too. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisemdin. Visit his website: chrisemdin.com.

Reality Pedagogy: Christopher Emdin’s Radical Reframing of Urban Educationtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54ed2b7aa883301bb08cc2c82970d2016-03-22T11:41:16-04:002016-04-29T11:16:33-04:00By Theresa Perry
As I was reading this book, I remembered Dr. Emdin’s March 2014 Simmons College—Beacon Press Race, Education, and Democracy Lectures, upon which this book is based. To the rapt audience, overflowing with high school and college students, teachers and teacher educators, community activists and organizers, the excitement was palpable. The young and the elderly enthusiastically embraced Dr. Emdin’s ideas about urban education and urban youth. Most importantly, all of us in the room could feel Dr. Emdin’s passion, love, and respect for our youth.Beacon Broadside

Happy publication day to scholar and professor Christopher Emdin and his new book For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood…and the Rest of Y’all Too! In For White Folks, Emdin offers his theory of Reality Pedagogy, a new approach to the outdated modes of thinking about teaching and learning in urban schools. Reality Pedagogy provides practical tools to unleash the brilliance and eagerness of youth and educators alike. Merging real stories with theory, research, and practice, Emdin demonstrates the importance of creating a family structure and building communities within the classroom, using culturally relevant strategies such as hip-hop music and call-and-response, and connecting the experiences of urban youth to indigenous populations globally.

As I was reading this book, I remembered Dr. Emdin’s March 2014 Simmons College—Beacon Press Race, Education, and Democracy Lectures, upon which this book is based. To the rapt audience, overflowing with high school and college students, teachers and teacher educators, community activists and organizers, the excitement was palpable. The young and the elderly enthusiastically embraced Dr. Emdin’s ideas about urban education and urban youth. Most importantly, all of us in the room could feel Dr. Emdin’s passion, love, and respect for our youth.

Dr. Emdin has brought his considerable passion and expertise to this outstanding and important book. It comes at a time when we are overwhelmed by descriptions of urban students that have little resemblance to who they are. Situating himself as narrator, teacher, and teacher educator, Dr. Emdin makes visible the dominant narrative about teaching in urban schools, which ultimately debases what it means to be a teacher—“stories about angry and violent urban youth who [do] not want to be in school and [do] not want to learn.”

Dr. Emdin forces us to pay attention to an unquestioned assertion that is routinely and glibly communicated in school reform circles: “urban students have to be saved from their communities.” Instead of the community being a place for students to be saved from, Dr. Emdin conceptualizes the community as a location where teachers can experience and learn about community-based models of effective teaching and learning. He brilliantly and exquisitely describes and deconstructs the pedagogy and participant structures of the Pentecostal sermon, the barbershop and beauty shop, and the hip-hop cypher—formal and informal community-based cultural/institutional formations. He demonstrates how these models can be used to influence and improve the pedagogical practices of urban teachers.

Describing and theorizing urban youth as neoindigenous, Dr. Emdin situates students as members of a historically oppressed group, who are routinely educated for compliance. Here, also, Emdin offers us a powerful set of alternative practices and structures, under the descriptor reality pedagogy. He challenges us to meet “each student on his or her own cultural and emotional turf.” Instead of being educated for compliance, the student is positioned as “the expert in his or her own teaching and learning,” co-constructing the classroom with the teacher.

This book is filled with wisdom, theoretical and practical knowledge that has been formed in praxis. It is required reading for teachers, teacher educators, and community activists. Dr. Emdin brings the culture, insights, and genius of the hip-hop generation to the critical task of educating our youth for freedom.

This is an important book. It is smart, compelling, filled with emotions, and brimming over with commitment.

About the Author

Theresa Perryis Professor of Africana Studies and Education at Simmons College. She is co-author of Young, Gifted and Black, and co-editor of The Real Ebonics Debate, among other books. She is faculty director of the Simmons College/Beacon Press Race, Education and Democracy Lecture and Book Series.

For the Folks Who Killed Black History Month...and the Rest of Y'all Tootag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54ed2b7aa883301bb08bb90aa970d2016-02-17T14:15:25-05:002016-04-29T12:10:16-04:00By Christopher Emdin
One of the most brazen statements related to Black History Month in recent years came from rapper Kanye West about ten years ago when he said “...I make Black History everyday, I don’t need a month.” Since then, this phrase has found it way across the lips, Twitter timelines, and Facebook statuses of a new generation of Black folks every February. Like many of Kanye West’s statements, the words seem to revolve around a need to affirm oneself. However, reflecting deeply on the essence of the quote, and considering its decade long permanence as a manta of sorts for the hip-hop generation, West’s declaration signals the tensions between Black History Month and the youth to whom it should mean the most.Beacon Broadside

One of the most brazen statements related to Black History Month in recent years came from rapper Kanye West about ten years ago when he said “...I make Black History everyday, I don’t need a month.” Since then, this phrase has found it way across the lips, Twitter timelines, and Facebook statuses of a new generation of Black folks every February. Like many of Kanye West’s statements, the words seem to revolve around a need to affirm oneself. However, reflecting deeply on the essence of the quote, and considering its decade long permanence as a manta of sorts for the hip-hop generation, West’s declaration signals the tensions between Black History Month and the youth to whom it should mean the most.

In my interactions with young people over the last two weeks as I have drifted in and out of Black History Month events as a speaker, teacher, or fly on the wall, I have seen Black and Brown faces from various ethnicities disengaged in the mandatory Black History Month classroom lessons, and purposefully skipping the voluntary Black History Month celebrations. When I asked them why, I received a number of responses that indicate that they acknowledge the month and its historical significance, but somehow don’t feel connected to it. For a new generation, Black History Month has become an appreciated but seldom used relic. An expensive outfit purchased by their grandparents tucked in the back of the closet, but rarely, if ever worn.

The phenomenon I describe above doesn’t mean that a new generation doesn’t recognize the importance of Black History Month. They see the need to celebrate Black history and to highlight the contributions of Black people across the diaspora. They understand its significance given the metaphorical and literal white washing of Black history from school curriculum. They will even fight feeble and intellectually simple justifications for getting rid of Black History Month (see Stacey Dash). Yet, they are not fully connected to it. Despite their cerebral connections to the month, it remains in the back closet of their collective consciousness; recognized but rarely truly valued or celebrated.

What is most fascinating about the relationship between Black youth and Black History Month is how connected this generation is to the activism that the month was intended to spark and fuel. They are socio-politically awake, deeply aware of their Blackness, and actively engaged in the work of championing for the rights of Black folks. They are stretching the discourse on Blackness and how it has been fashioned to be an ever-present threat to America, they are interested in running for political office, and jumping into the discourse around the upcoming presidential election. Any assessment of their engagement in the current landscape of civil rights indicates that they are intellectually and socio-politically rigorous. Yet still, Black History Month remains tucked in the metaphorical closet as a thing that they don’t necessarily want to engage with.

In response, I suggest that a deliberate effort be made to understand this generation’s disconnect with Black History Month. Based on what I’ve observed in this month, I can offer a simple step forward.

Firstly, it is important that we connect Black History Month to the young people making history today. I suggest that we should do this before we connect to the heroes like Martin Luther King Jr, Thurgood Marshall, and Harriet Tubman that we too often lead with. This is not to devalue their legacies or diminish their significance, but to highlight the fact that in the telling and retelling of their stories in ways that have a beginning and an ending removed from the present generation, they have been stripped of their true value in connecting to youth. Beyond telling the stories of our ancestors, we must highlight the work of young people who are actively fighting for civil rights and equality everyday. People like Bree Newsome who climbed a flag pole to remove a Confederate flag at a monument at the Statehouse in Columbia, South Carolina, and Jonathan Butler who went on a hunger strike in protest of racist incidents at the University of Missouri have engaged in powerful recent work that youth can connect to in ways that are unimaginable.

In my work, I find that young people do not want to know about flawless heroes who lived perfect lives and then died long before they were born. They honor these heroes, but they do not feel a connection to them. Today’s youth do connect to those whose missions are still unfulfilled and who need them to carry on tradition.

Each celebration and classroom lesson I have witnessed this month is formulaic and repetitive. Too many tell the same stories about the same heroes the same way at the same time each year. The notion of history is taken too literally and the concept of recent and local history is lost in the interest of maintaining tradition and celebrating the ancestors. Of course, this isn’t to say that we shouldn’t celebrate important figures in Black history. We should. However, we must recognize that their stories don’t end at their death, tightly wrapped in pretty bows; not if we expect youth to continue to celebrate this month. Furthermore, the stories we tell cannot be so glorified and sanitized that youth are unable to relate to them. I believe that our heroes die twice when we stop them from living in the hearts and souls of the next generation. Connections that need to be made between the ancestors and the present generation cannot be made when history is told without context. If the stories of past battles are told like they are over or conquered, Black History Month remains as it currently stands...not as meaningful to those who can carry on its traditions as it needs to be.

About the Author

Christopher Emdin is an associate professor in the Department of Mathematics, Science, and Technology at Teachers College, Columbia University, where he also serves as associate director of the Institute for Urban and Minority Education. The creator of the #HipHopEd social media movement and Science Genius B.A.T.T.L.E.S., Emdin was named the 2015 Multicultural Educator of the Year by the National Association of Multicultural Educators and has been honored as a STEM Access Champion of Change by the White House. In addition to teaching, he serves as a Minorities in Energy Ambassador for the US Department of Energy. He is the author of For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood...and the Rest of Y’all Too. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisemdin. Visit his website: chrisemdin.com.

The Big Picture of "Teaching the New Way" in the Ron Clark Academy Videotag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54ed2b7aa883301bb08aeb532970d2016-01-20T13:45:08-05:002016-05-05T16:34:35-04:00By Christopher Emdin
My phone buzzes one more time. I look over at the glowing screen to see that I have been tagged once more in the Ron Clark dance video from his school in Atlanta. I nod, give a half smile at the screen, and continue on my school visits. Today, I’m in the Bronx, and am working with a group of students who are researching cell division so they can add a layer of complexity to their rap song on mitosis and meiosis. The three young men I am sitting with are concerned because the simple rhyme scheme they have developed thus far isn’t going to cut it. This realization hits after they overhear a pair of young ladies perform their rap on the reproductive system that cites recent research in biology and comes replete with choreographed dance moves to match the verse. My phone buzzes again. I am tagged in the Ron Clark video again. My response this time is two fold. My first is: Damn, this white boy got some rhythm. The second is: I feel sorry for anyone who thinks they’re just gon’ “Hit the Quan” to academic success. The fact is, if you ain’t got Clarks rhythm, and the structures are not in place to support and validate such a transgressive approach to teaching, you will fail miserably. In fact, you may end up doing much more of a disservice to the students than a traditional school would. Ron Clark works at a school that is named after him with a certain funding structure, certain rules of conduct, and very particular philosophies. If you do not have any of these structures in place, or any strategies for circumventing the ones you are bound by, I feel bad for you son...You’ve got ninety-nine problems and Hittin’ the Quan in school is one.Beacon Broadside

My phone buzzes one more time. I look over at the glowing screen to see that I have been tagged once more in the Ron Clark dance video from his school in Atlanta. I nod, give a half smile at the screen, and continue on my school visits. Today, I’m in the Bronx, and am working with a group of students who are researching cell division so they can add a layer of complexity to their rap song on mitosis and meiosis. The three young men I am sitting with are concerned because the simple rhyme scheme they have developed thus far isn’t going to cut it. This realization hits after they overhear a pair of young ladies perform their rap on the reproductive system that cites recent research in biology and comes replete with choreographed dance moves to match the verse. My phone buzzes again. I am tagged in the Ron Clark video again. My response this time is two fold. My first is: Damn, this white boy got some rhythm. The second is: I feel sorry for anyone who thinks they’re just gon’ “Hit the Quan” to academic success. The fact is, if you ain’t got Clarks rhythm, and the structures are not in place to support and validate such a transgressive approach to teaching, you will fail miserably. In fact, you may end up doing much more of a disservice to the students than a traditional school would. Ron Clark works at a school that is named after him with a certain funding structure, certain rules of conduct, and very particular philosophies. If you do not have any of these structures in place, or any strategies for circumventing the ones you are bound by, I feel bad for you son...You’ve got ninety-nine problems and Hittin’ the Quan in school is one.

For over a decade, I have advocated tirelessly for the use of youth culture and student realities in urban schools. These are institutions that I know very well. I was a student in these schools. I have taught in them for years, and have studied the communities that they are nested in and the policies that maintain their dysfunction for my entire professional career. These are schools where student test scores almost always lag behind those of their white counterparts in more affluent and racially monolithic communities. They house classrooms where Black and Brown children are often so disengaged and disempowered that educators are desperate to find anything to ignite their passion for school. Most importantly, these are schools where the approaches to teaching and learning are so antiquated, and youth voice is so silenced, that different or “new” approaches to teaching are necessary.

This call for new approaches to teaching has been made by Black folks who are invested in their communities for as long as I can remember. I vividly remember my father playing Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes’ song “Wake up Everybody” when I was a young boy and being struck by their lament for teachers to “Teach a New Way.” This charge for teaching a new way has been taken on by educators for decades. Educators of color have been teaching a “new way” for as long as there was information to share, and someone to learn it. There were Black teachers who secretly sang songs to teach each other to read in the slave quarters and who engaged in complex call and response in order to get students to learn their multiplication tables in schools where white administrators would punish them for these approaches. This “new way” is in many ways our way—a culturally relevant and responsive approach to education. “Our way” is what my work in #HipHopEd and Reality Pedagogy is rooted in. These are approaches to teaching and learning that utilize the complex culture that youth are engaged in to teach content in a way that draws from hip-hop, and is as rigorous as it is engaging.

Now back to Ron Clark’s viral video, and why I ain’t trippin’. Dude was doing what works for his students in a school he operates in Atlanta, which is currently the contemporary hip-hop dance capital of the world. If the dance that is being done in Clark’s school engages young people in a locale that celebrates the form (contemporary hip-hop dance), I am for it. In fact, when Black joy is expressed in schools through a method that the youth actively engage in, we all win. There are less suspensions, there is more active learning, and there is more community engagement.

What pains me about the video is the way that it has become an exemplar for “teaching a new way” without highlighting the larger traditions that birth this approach. Educators of color do this type of work everyday and often get punished for it by school administrators, and critiqued for it by school systems that question the merit of anything other than following scripted curricula when teaching Black and Brown students. Mr. Clark’s whiteness, while not an impediment to his teaching, has been fashioned by an audience that exoticizes white performance of Blackness to become complicit in the erasure of a Black teaching tradition that fights every day for visibility and validation. The question then becomes: Is it possible to be concerned about larger issues related to White folks who teach in the hood and still celebrate what is happening in Clark’s school with youth of color? The answer is yes. We can like the dance and still ask what happens after the routine is over and the students get back to the classroom. Asking these questions does not mean that powerful work is not happening in Mr. Clark’s school. It doesn’t mean people are hating. It does allow us to see the way that media (social media included) becomes so enamored by “the show” that it distracts us from questioning and possibly learning about the most important parts of this approach to teaching—What happens next? What are students learning? What do I have to learn about myself and my students first? How do I ensure that students are making connections to content? How do I ensure I am not misusing their culture?

As I look at my tags in this video, a few concerns emerge. I am concerned that people do not see that the dance has to be the beginning of a larger conversation that gets dulled by the spectacle of the performance. I am also concerned that folks will not see that this approach cannot be blindly transported to another school without embracing larger strategies to support what happens next. Just being White with rhythm will not equip someone to be an effective teacher of youth of color. The work necessary to embark on such an endeavor cannot be replaced by a dance routine. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, I am concerned about what is being revealed about many educators by the harsh and borderline offensive critiques of the video. There are educators who are livid with Clark, and who are coupling their critique of Ron Clark with an endorsement of more traditional approaches to formal education that have proven to disengage youth of color and stifle their creativity. These are “progressive educators” who are essentially saying that they are more invested in, and devoted to flawed educational systems than the joy of Black and Brown young people. We’ve got to move beyond that.

What this video has done for me is open up the space for a much more nuanced conversation about what it takes to teach effectively. It highlights some of the questions I take on in my book, For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood...and the Rest of Y’all Too. My take is that White folks who teach in the hood...and the rest of ya'll need too, need to ask some different questions about the art and craft of teaching. In the process, don’t knock dude for trying to spark some magic with his kids. That is always the first step.

About the Author

Christopher Emdin is an associate professor in the Department of Mathematics, Science, and Technology at Teachers College, Columbia University, where he also serves as associate director of the Institute for Urban and Minority Education. The creator of the #HipHopEd social media movement and Science Genius B.A.T.T.L.E.S., Emdin was named the 2015 Multicultural Educator of the Year by the National Association of Multicultural Educators and has been honored as a STEM Access Champion of Change by the White House. In addition to teaching, he serves as a Minorities in Energy Ambassador for the US Department of Energy. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisemdin.

Mixed Media in Book Designtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00e54ed2b7aa883301b8d159a21e970c2015-09-18T16:28:05-04:002016-04-25T16:55:12-04:00Working in the creative department at a small non-profit book publisher, we are constantly brainstorming new ideas of how to get our books noticed while not breaking the bank. Perhaps surprisingly, our limitations are sometimes what help elevate our designs to a higher standard. Our department is constantly brainstorming new ways to communicate our message through a combination of digital and physical media. I have had to rely on my abilities to illustrate, draw text, sculpt, paint, photograph, and collage on covers. My favorite covers have always resulted from some sort of experimentation with media and imagery.Beacon Broadside

Working in the creative department at a small non-profit book publisher, we are constantly brainstorming new ideas of how to get our books noticed while not breaking the bank. Perhaps surprisingly, our limitations are sometimes what help elevate our designs to a higher standard. Our department is constantly brainstorming new ways to communicate our message through a combination of digital and physical media. I have had to rely on my abilities to illustrate, draw text, sculpt, paint, photograph, and collage on covers. My favorite covers have always resulted from some sort of experimentation with media and imagery.

For the Spring 2016 covers, we had a lot of fun with mixed media. Below are some of the few ways I experimented with mixed media with my designs.

1. Twine and Typography

The memoir Entwined by Joyce Wallace Scott revolves around the author’s relationship with her twin sister, Judith Scott, who was a world-renowned fiber artist. The story is heart-wrenching and deeply personal, so I knew that I wanted the cover to reflect those qualities in the design.

We were lucky enough to receive some great photos from the author’s childhood along with Judith’s artwork. I knew these photos would work wonderfully for the cover but knew the cover needed another element to further the design.

The fiber art of Judith Scott is vibrant, complex, and tactile. I felt like the title also needed a tactile and “entwined” treatment. I started with hand drawn text, trying to use lines to create movement and a sense of connection. I thought I was getting closer with the hand drawn text, but didn’t feel like I was quite there. This is when I thought of using some of my own embroidery thread to create the word “entwined” and mimic the texture and colors of the artwork by Judith Scott.

The 3D “entwined” was a lot of fun to create. First, I took one of my handwritten titles and blew it up in Photoshop, printed it on our large format printer and backed with thin cardboard. I then cut out the cardboard letters and wrapped the letters with several colors of embroidery thread until the letters were covered. The final step was photographing the letters and tweaking them slightly in Photoshop. Note the color shift on “twin” within Entwined.

Queer Virtue by the Reverend Elizabeth M. Edman provided another set of interesting design challenges. The book called for a mostly text cover with some sort of imagery that was both Christian and queer without being too specific. Initially, I played with some imagery of rosary beads before the team here at Beacon decided that direction would be too specific to Catholicism.

Most of the comparable titles we discussed while brainstorming the Queer Virtue cover had abstract art on the cover, which I thought would work nicely. The abstract imagery on the cover needed to be colorful and eye-catching.

While brainstorming art techniques for the cover, I remembered an accidental technique I created back in college using layers of paint and Sumi-E Painting Sketch Paper. The Sumi-E paper is generally used for india ink calligraphy and line drawing but can also work nicely for layering colors and playing with translucency.

I experimented a lot with this cover. Painting on the Sumi-E paper with watered down acrylic paints, I was able to create layers of colorful paper that I collaged on top of each other. I began with more abstract colors and eventually started painting crosses to signify Christianity.

Once I had my pieces of art ready, I booked a conference room for a photo shoot. There I secured the art pieces on a window, turned off the conference room lights, and photographed the art with light from the hallway shining through the window and artwork. This lighting effect gave the art the vibrancy of a stained glass window.

The cover of For White Folks who Teach in the Hood…and the Rest of Ya’ll Too by Christopher Emdin focuses on sneaker culture and illustrates the divide between some teachers in urban areas and their students. This cover concept was inspired by a specific story in the book where a teacher’s lack of understanding of her students is illustrated by her attitude towards their shoes. Visually, I thought this “shoe divide” would be a fun concept to play with.

Surprisingly, it was very difficult to find images that would work with this concept. Sure, I found images of sneakers but they were often dirty, worn out, or outdated. Christopher emphasized to us how important it was for the sneakers to be clean and well kept. After many hours of research, only finding photos of worn out and dirty shoes, it was time to think of a new approach.

This is when I decided to recruit some very generous colleagues who took time from their busy schedules to become foot models for a day. My colleagues brought in their best sneakers, I put together a last minute green screen, and we had a photo shoot. The colors, textures, and variety in the sneakers were better than I could have imagined, thanks to the help of fellow Beacon staff.

When I can’t find the correct imagery online, it’s great to be able to photograph my own covers. Another cover we recently photographed in house includes Faith Ed.by Linda K. Wertheimer.

Throughout my time at Beacon Press, I have learned that creating my own images and text for covers is sometimes the best solution. I feel lucky to have designed covers for a wide range of topics. Each Beacon title presented a unique challenge to help elevate the book from initial idea to an eye-catching book worth picking up.

About the Author

Gabi designed her first book cover at the age of six for her self-published book following a three-eyed alien family living on Mars. Ever since then she has immersed herself in the world of art and design. Gabi joined Beacon Press in 2011 after graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design. She is now the visual designer for an apparel start up in San Francisco. Follow her on Twitter at @gabi_studio.

Few educators embody that mission more than this year's lecturer, Dr. Chris Emdin, recently honored by the White House as an African American STEM Champion of Change. Dr. Emdin's research focuses on issues of race, class, and diversity in urban science classrooms, and the use of new theoretical frameworks to transform education and urban school reform. A self-proclaimed member of the hip-hop generation, Emdin seeks to popularize the notion that the genius of hip-hop is compatible with science genius. In partnership with GZA (Gary Grice), a member of the Wu-Tang Clan whose love of science is well known, he developed the Science Genius B.A.T.T.L.E.S. In a pilot project, students wrote rap songs that captured the complexity of the science and lyricism of hip-hop, and, in a final competition at Columbia University, students’ performances of these rap songs were judged by a panel of scientists and hip hop artists.

That kind a innovative approach to science education has made Dr. Emdin a highly sought-after social critic, public intellectual, and science advocate whose commentary on issues of race, culture, inequality, and education have appeared in dozens of influential periodicals including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post. He has also made numerous appearances on the TED stage and elsewhere, pushing his model of Reality Pedagogy:

Dr. Emdin is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mathematics, Science and Technology at Columbia University's Teachers College, where he also serves as Director of Science Education at the Center for Health Equity and Urban Science Education. He is also currently a Caperton Fellow and Hip-Hop Archive Fellow at the WEB DuBois Institute at Harvard University, and the author of Urban Science Education for the Hip-Hop Generation.

We hope you will join us in returning public education to the center of American public life and bringing discussions about critical educational issues to the public domain, engaging Americans from many different backgrounds in thoughtful and complicated conversations.

The 2014 lectures are funded in part by the Lowell Institute, and co-sponsored by the Cambridge Public School System. Please note that the first two lectures will be held on Saturday, March 29, 2014. The last lecture will be held on Tuesday, April 01, 2014 in the Kotzen Center.